Over the next 8 years, the demand for postsecondary education in healthcare will grow faster than any other field except for those in STEM and Education. With an influx of “baby-boomer” retirees, healthcare workers will be in high demand to fill front and back end jobs such as hospital accountants, pharmaceutical sales representatives, doctor’s office secretaries and the like. A total of 82 percent of those 5.6 million new healthcare jobs–4.6 million–will require postsecondary education and training. Healthcare successfully competes for science and engineering talent. Because healthcare, science, and technology fields tend to require similar skills, healthcare programs at the associate and bachelor’s level are often an appealing alternative for science and engineering students. Though healthcare and STEM skills are similar, healthcare reflects distinctly different work interests and values. People in healthcare jobs tend to value forming social bonds, while people who gravitate to STEM occupations place a greater emphasis on achievement and independence. Article –>